| dc.description.abstract | This study’s exploration into the UWEP program in Busia district, Uganda, dives deep into the question of whether, and to what extent, the program impacts both household well-being and women's empowerment. Cross-sectional primary data was collected from women in both treatment and comparison groups, ensuring balanced samples. Within the scope of the UWEP program in Busia, our assessment consistently highlighted that age was a pivotal factor in determining program participation, hinting that experiential knowledge often held more sway than formal educational qualifications.
The assessment on well-being utilized indicators such as individual savings, expenditure, and the Household Wealth Index (HWI). For women's empowerment, the Decision Making Power Index (DMI) served as the evaluative metric. The program's effects were assessed by differencing the average outcomes of women from the treatment and comparison groups after applying the 5-Nearest Neighbour(s) matching method and achieving common support of both subgroups.
On average, women from the treatment group experienced a 63% (p>0.05) increase in savings and an 11.3% (p>0.05) rise in spending compared to the comparison group. However, when evaluating relative poverty, the treatment group's average Household Wealth Index (HWI) score was 14.36% (p>0.05) lower than that of the comparison group. Further, when analyzing empowerment through the decision-making power index, women in the treatment group were found to be, on average, 10.4% (p>0.05) less empowered than those in the comparison group. Notably, all outcomes, except for individual savings, displayed sensitivity to hidden biases.
The actual impact of the UWEP program presents a nuanced picture because despite women in the treatment group saving more and spending more, they are seen to be relatively poorer and less empowered. This presents an intriguing contradiction that suggests that while there's more economic activity among these women, it doesn't necessarily translate to tangible well-being or empowerment. Therefore, for significant improvement in empowerment and overall well-being, a multifaceted approach considering both financial and non-financial elements (i.e., encompassing decision-making autonomy, and societal gender dynamics) is paramount.
In conclusion, the findings provide inconclusive evidence about the impact of participation in the UWEP program on wellbeing and empowerment of women but offer insights for enhanced and continuous learning and improvement. Impact evaluations, as underscored by this study, play a pivotal role in identifying areas of success and avenues for improvement, ensuring that interventions genuinely serve the target communities. Such evaluations guide stakeholders including both governments and donors towards implementing cost-effective programs. Despite the potential of similar programs, rigorous pre-implementation evaluations remain paramount. Accordingly, before scaling programs like UWEP, thorough assessments of pilot initiatives, using impact evaluation methods such as randomized evaluations, Difference-in-Differences (DD), and or Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD), are indispensable to inform and guide decision-makers, thereby ensuring effective intervention and value for money implementation suitable for the Ugandan context, and reaching broader population segments effectively. This study underscores the importance of rigorous impact evaluations before scaling any program, thereby ensuring that better-informed implementation strategies that yield optimal long-term results and benefits for the targeted communities are considered before implementing an intervention at scale. | en_US |
